Rick Perry Turns ‘Oops’ Moment Into Iowa TV Ad

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Rick Perry has turned his now infamous “Oops” moment into a television ad that will run for one night only in Iowa tonight, bookending his appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”

The ad, called “What’s That Line Again?” is the seventh TV spot of the campaign. It begins with the actual clip of Perry’s slipup at the CNBC debate in Rochester, Mich., last month. “Commerce, education and the, um what’s the third one there,” Perry says in the clip of the gaffe. The ad then cuts to a new video of Perry as he completes his missing thought. “The Department of Energy,” says Perry in the ad.

“You know, we’ve all lost our train of thought before, but not many have done it on national TV. If you want a slick debater, I’m obviously not your guy, but if you want to clean house in Washington with a balanced budget amendment, a flat tax and a part-time Congress, I’m your man.”

Perry even uses his closing approval message to poke more fun at himself.

“I’m Rick Perry, and what’s that line again?” Perry says before broadcasting the usual ”I’m Rick Perry, and I approve of this message.”

“While the rest of GOP field is busy handling scandals, inconsistencies and contradictions on important issues, Gov. Perry’s appearance on Leno and his special Leno ad show he is confident enough to use the attention from last month’s Michigan debate to highlight his status as the true outsider conservative in the Republican field,” Ray Sullivan, Perry campaign communications director, said in a statement.

Perry spent Thursday fundraising in California and will pretape “The Tonight Show” this afternoon. This is Perry’s second late-night show appearance this campaign. The night after Perry committed his debate blunder, he read the “Top 10 List on the Late Show With David Letterman.”

While he tries to play off his debate stumble, the Texas governor committed some other gaffes earlier this week while campaigning in New Hampshire. He flubbed the voting age, suggesting it was 21, not 18; he missed the date of the general election by nearly a week and he called the New Hampshire primary the “New Hampshire caucuses.”

Earlier today, the Perry campaign released its sixth ad in Iowa. Called “Energy Jobs,” it compares President Obama to Jimmy Carter, pushes the U.S. to “kick our dependence on foreign oil” and promotes Perry’s energy plan.